Column: The future of Florida’s beaches and the public’s right to know; Op Ed. by Orrin Pilkey

“The state of Florida has a very weak coastal management program and has carried out no realistic planning about how to respond to sea-level rise. The rise is expected to be 2 feet and perhaps significantly more by the year 2100. In fact, leading politicians of the state, including the governor, deny global climate change and have forbidden their lieutenants from even mentioning the seven words “climate change, global warming, sea level rise…”

In Florida, officials ban term ‘climate change’, Miami HeraldThe state of Florida is the region most susceptible to the effects of global warming in this country, according to scientists. Sea-level rise alone threatens 30 percent of the state’s beaches over the next 85 years.But you would not know that by talking to officials at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the state agency on the front lines of studying and planning for these changes…

Palm Beach Mid-Town Dredge Project, A Youtube Video (02-04-2015)“Beach nourishment projects like this have become commonplace along the US East and Gulf Coasts. These projects have immediate environmental impacts through burial of nearshore habitat and increased turbidity during project placement.The cumulative environmental impacts of doing this repeatedly on the same beach while conducting projects from Maine to Texas is unknown. But, we should be concerned. ” —Robert S. Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University